For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
This Sunday our congregation will observe the Lord's Supper. The unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine will be before us. They are simple and very common elements which gain their significance in the hands of Christ. They are symbols of His person and His mission here on earth. We are going to observe this very important ordinance. It will be well for us to return to the Scripture and be reminded of the significance of what we are about to do.
Remember His Incarnation - He took the bread and said, 'This is my body'.
Romans 8:3, "...God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh..."
He took the body prepared for Him by the Father. He took it so that there could be a visible sacrifice for the sin of the world. He took on the body of flesh willingly. Phil, 2:7, "...made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." The taking of bread is symbolic of the willingness of Christ to take the body of flesh. It was a voluntary act; He did not have to do it for us. As we take the bread, let us remember the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He stepped down from glory and then He stepped into our place. He gave Himself for us.
Remember His Devotion - He gave thanks.
Consider the meaning here when Jesus took the body and thanked God for it. He gave thanks for a body that was about to be bruised and broken on the cross. He thanked the Father for the privilege to die for a guilty and unthankful world. He showed His whole-hearted devotion to God and His willingness to do the awful task that was set before Him. In Gethsemane He prayed, "Not my will, but Thine be done." It is that surrendered will that God seeks from each of us; He is longing to hear those same words from us.
Remember His Suffering - After giving thanks, He broke it.
Every word and act seems to be full of meaning. It was after His season of prayer in Gethsemane that the soldiers and crowd came to take Him on one of the cruelest walks ever. It was after He said, Not my will, but Thine; that He was beaten and abused by the very souls that He was about to give His life for.
He broke it Himself. He gave Himself a sacrifice for our sins. He said, 'No man takes my life from me: I lay it down of myself.' Ephesians 5:2 says, “...Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us..." He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. Isaiah 53:5
Remember His Invitation - He said, "Take, eat:"
After the atonement has been made by His suffering and death, there comes the invitation to partake of the benefits purchased. He has suffered all the pain and misery of the cross for us. He has paid the 'wages of sin' for us. Now it is available for us to receive the blessings of His grace.
He said, “Do this in remembrance of me". There is no virtue in eating the bread and drinking the wine, if that is all we do. The elements of the supper are memorials of what He has done for us in giving His body and His blood as a ransom for our souls. Without the remembrance of this, the partaking becomes a ritual without meaning or purpose. The importance does not lie with how often we observe but with how well we remember what it all means.
Remember His Purpose - "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He comes."
There are no symbolic ordinances given to show forth His birth or to show forth His transfiguration or His ascension. His purpose in the institution was that His death might be kept before our minds often. This ordinance is but a temporary one. When Jesus returns, we will have no need of a reminder... He will be our remembrance. We need to remember what Christ did for us; consider our lives before Him; and realize that He is coming again. I’ll meet you at the table.
Scripture to Claim:
So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 1 Corinthians 11:33
